Founders Packs ruin this game for me

[lostboyash]

..... but I am NOT going to pay to gain beta access to a game.....

Guess what? You don't have to. You will still get to play with everyone on launch and spend your money then if the game meets your minimum fun requirement. Meanwhile, those who can afford it and desire to support the developers through purchase of a Founder's pack, or acquiring a beta key through other means, will test the game and have early access.

You have the right to spend your money in any way you see fit. I will not berate or belittle you for it. What right do you have to do the same to others who choose to spend their own money in a way that pleases them?

Foolish? Maybe. But lets be real here. We play games....its a frivolous and somewhat foolish pastime really. It is also lots of fun. I have had plenty of fun times with foolish and frivolous people and prefer them over the somewhat bitter and self-righteous attitudes seen in this thread. Personally I hope you hate the game and move along. Or experience a life changing epiphany that will make you not so bitter towards others. I'm rooting for the latter, but will settle for the former. *Fingers crossed*

[prn]

I really don't mind about the packages, but for me it seems stupid to pay for a beta access just to find out I might not even like this game. You wouldn't buy a car without testing it first, would you ?

And I'm the kind of guy who always goes for the most expensive packages there is, just so I won't lose any extra items.

You throw me a beta key to try this game out and after I've made my decision I might or might not throw you my 200$ :P

[soth007]

So your saying that Starbucks Coffee is free, but you have to pay for a Frap?

So you're saying you only like potatoes grown in Ireland during the middle of october? Wow, that is weird, why on earth would you say that? I don't understand your discrimination against potatoes at all...

[prn]

So you're saying you only like potatoes grown in Ireland during the middle of october? Wow, that is weird, why on earth would you say that? I don't understand your discrimination against potatoes at all...

So you're saying you trust potatoes ?! You can't trust those things, they are evil.

[fazemladaiya]

The highlighted part being the problem I see with Cryptic's F2P business model. It relies entirely on players willing and able to pay for stuff to carry the entire weight of financially supporting the game, which means that they'll likely pay considerably more than they normally would in a P2P or even B2P game just so that those that are unwilling and/or unable to pay can play the game for free. Because that is the only way that a game like this can offer quality content and still cover its development cost. Which leads them to sell $200 packs like the one threads like this are discussing, or lockboxes with ridiculously low drop rates for access to exclusive content that cannot be gained any other way, like they sell in their other games.

Cryptic games are great for people that don't have a lot of money, are willing to grind their way into content, and don't mind getting a limited play experience without access to things like freeform powers (CO) or premium ships (STO). But in other to make that possible and keep the game going the people that pay sometimes have to pay many times over the old $15/month subscription cost in often expensive cash shop items or gambling for the chance to get access to new, exclusive content.

Cryptic games also use a special in-game currency (Questionite in CO, Dilithium in STO and now Astral Diamonds in NWO) that can be grinded and traded with other players in exchange for Zen--the currency used to buy cash shop items. This provides free players a means to buy cash shop items without using real money to do so. But this is essentially no different than selling something in real life then using that money to buy game stuff (except you're selling them a digital in-game item instead of a real world object or service). The items still cost money--or at least a currency (Zen) which normally costs money to aquire. So the cost (again) ultimately falls back onto paying players.

And if paying costumers are the only way that the company makes money in such a transaction, you can be certain that the cost of those items will reflect that, since selling things at high enough prices is the only way the company will meet their ends. I believe that this has the potential to skew prices, so that people end up paying up to $25-$50 for a single ship like they do in STO, $50 for one freeform slot in CO, or $40, $50, sometimes even hundreds of dollars gambling for items, when the normal price for a B2P game is $60.

Now, am I willing to pay for games? Maybe even $200 or more? I am and I have been doing it for years. I'm just not sure I'm willing to potentially pay considerably more than I normally have, just so that other people can play for free.

Games are frivolous, leisure activities. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that, but they're not a life necessity. People dont have to play games. IMO everyone that plays a game should chip in to cover the costs. Not just a few select "whales" (as they are called in the F2P industry) willing and able to throw hundreds uppon hundreds of dollars in games. All such a system does is set things out of balance, so that a company is forced to charge a premium, which may set things out of the price range of people that would otherwise have been willing and able to pay, and further guarantees that the players with the most money end up being the ones that pay most of the cost.

People that can't afford to pay (at least a cover charge like B2P) to play games probably shouldn't be playing them and I'm not sure that setting up the system around them is the best way to run a game.



Actually, its been less than a year (six months or so to be exact).

You know . . . I fully agree with this post. I wonder if PW would ever consider going back to pay to play. It does make sense.

First reply ever from a phone

[syberghost]

So you're saying you trust potatoes ?! You can't trust those things, they are evil.

You can trust the mail potato. The mail potato is the source of many shinies, and attracts dancing giant pirate ghosts.

[nethershadows]

Um... Yes it is.. You can play, they can't. Seems like a pretty unfair disadvantage for them.

Welcome to the "Free Soup Kitchen" if you have money to donate, you can eat, if not you will have to wait ?

I think a new gaming model has been invented.... Its not Pay to Play, Its Not Free to Play, its ...

FREE TO WAIT

You're just really scarping the bottom of the barrel to find a complaint for this game, aren't you?

[ambisinisterr]

Alright Everybody, I think it's time we lay this topic to rest for the time being.

I know everybody has their opinions and we respected that by allowing this thread to remain open for as long as possible but this thread has boiled down to back and forth arguments based on opinions. You all have valid points and while I can't and won't promise any changes the Devs have been keeping an eye on the feedback in this thread and others. However at this point the thread can continue forever and cause nothing but distension within the community so I am afraid it's time for this to be closed.